Mary, Mother of Mercy

Pope Francis said in an address from 2013, “Mary, whose ‘yes’ opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience, is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God, so that he can untangle the knots of our soul by his fatherly mercy.” What would this Jubilee Year of Mercy look like without Mary saying yes to God’s plan for her? Would we even have such a year?

Mary is the Mother who lovingly brings us to God, the one who turns human yesses into miracles. Mary not only gave birth to the Son of God, she gave birth to our hope that by our own affirmative reply to God’s calling in our life, that God will comfort and care for us as his own. Our Lady is then not only the Mother of God, but the Mother of Mercy, for without her, the pathway of mercy and grace does not break into our world.

We then must demonstrate our gratefulness for her answer to God by becoming vessels of God’s mercy for others. Just as he turned her yes into the Incarnation, God can turn our yes into a way for others to encounter Jesus Christ. God can untangle knots in others through our generosity and compassion. He can shower mercy upon a world in such desperate need of it through our actions and gestures of love. This is what it means to be a mature disciple and to live a stewardship way of life. Mary is the Mother of God, but she is our Mother as well. What better way to give thanks to the woman who made this possible with her gesture of love than by offering that same love to the world?